


Tendencies

by Band_aid



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: 5 Times, 5+1 Things, Conquest spoilers, F/F, Nohr | Conquest Route, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-05-26 23:50:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6260812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Band_aid/pseuds/Band_aid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times Camilla wanted to be friends (and one time Hinoka wanted it too).</p><p>(Well, and maybe a little more.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tendencies

**Author's Note:**

> i was disappointed in the camilla/hinoka support, so i made this.
> 
> cross-posted from [tumblr](http://lutestrung.tumblr.com/post/141105670585/tendencies) (as usual)
> 
> edited 6/20/17

_**One.** _

For as long as she’s known of the outside world, Camilla longed to escape the realm of royalty and live a comfortable life free of such responsibilities. This was why, growing up, she had long-since accepted the fact that her older brother would precede the throne.

 Because, _honestly_ , formalities were so droll.

“Princess Camilla,” the newly-inaugurated Hoshidan queen acknowledged, dipping her head politely. The gesture was meant to be swift and fleeting only, but Camilla, adamant Camilla, wanted to prolong their short encounters as much as possible.

“Queen Hinoka,” she responded in kind, giving a polite bow. Apparently caught off-guard by her extenuating respect, Hinoka’s jaw hung open. “It’s been _forever_ since I’ve last seen you. My, how you’ve grown into that crown.”

“I look exactly the same as I did a year ago,” Hinoka said. She waved her hand, indicating to her retainers to move on without her. “Are you just trying to make small-talk?”

“What I meant, darling, is that you’ve bags under your eyes.” As if to accentuate her point, Camilla leaned downwards and tried to brush a thumb under her cheek, but Hinoka instinctively pulled backwards. In mock offense, Camilla retracted her hand.

“You seem tense. Perhaps you would care for a soak? I was just about to head to the hot springs myself, anyways. You could come join me.”

“I—I’d rather not…”

“Have you never bathed with someone before? What a shame. We can fix that right now.”

“T-that’s not really what I meant.” Hinoka, in a manner rather unbefitting of a royal queen, dragged her hand down her face. “Look, with all due respect, I really have somewhere I need to be—“

“Oh, I’m well-aware of why Hoshido’s queen is in the Nohrian castle, Queen Hinoka. I’m sure the meeting board wouldn’t mind waiting just a little while longer, considering how late you are currently.”

“Wait, late?” Hinoka’s eyes bulged as she pushed past Camilla. Turning around to watch her leave, Camilla smiled.

“King Xander is waiting in the last room on the right,” she called out. Indeed, formalities were quite so often as droll as this.

(She did long to hear Hinoka call her, quite simply, “Camilla”—no title required.)

 

**_Two._ **

“Lady Camilla? Lady Hinoka is looking for—” Selena, her beloved, somewhat-airheaded retainer stopped and cringed upon opening the door, bringing a hand up to shield her eyes. “I—I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware you were still changing.”

With Camilla’s back turned, she could hardly see more than bare shoulders, but nonetheless slowly began to close the door. “I’ll—I’ll just be waiting out here. Waiting for you.”

Over her shoulder, Camilla offered Selena a sympathetic smile. She was still deciding between two shirts—one lavender silk, and the other a darker blue. After eyeing the two shirts for a while, in indecisiveness completely Camilla-like, she walked over to her closet and threw on a red shirt instead.

Flipping her hair out from underneath her shirt, she pressed herself against the door and overheard her two retainers talking, Selena in a hushed, embarrassed tone, and Beruka presumably silent—as usual. When she finally opened the door, she saw, instead, Hinoka with her darling retainer, and a mysterious Beruka nowhere to be seen.

 _How cute_ , she thought, _they’re getting along_.

Camilla leaned against the door post. Selena gave a short bow and trotted off (Camilla could barely hear the “I’ll leave you two be”), allowing an awkward silence to be broken by the echoing of her heels clicking against marble.

After watching Selena stomp off, Hinoka turned to Camilla. “I’m ready. For our second lesson, I mean.” She sighed. “At least, as ready as I think I can be.”

Camilla stepped aside as a gesture of hospitality. Hinoka brushed past her and into the oddly-normal bedroom, gathering her sights instead of taking a seat—a large bedroom to say the least, decorated just as she thought a princess’ would be. Despite having seen it once before, she found herself just as mesmerized the first time. With a lace canopy covering her queen-sized purple bed and sheer drapes creating a dusky shadow over the room, the only other bedroom that could possibly be brighter and more princess-like in this castle was Elise’s. When Camilla pat the arm of her chair, Hinoka quickly nodded and took a seat across her.

“Do you think you’ve made progress since our last lesson?” Camilla’s voice brought her back into reality as she stood from the chair and gathered a sewing set from an open drawer. When she returned, she placed a needle and some white thread into her lap. “I know it’s only our second, but you’re a fast learner, Hinoka.”

“Sort of,” Hinoka admitted, turning her head. “I’ve been caught up in some other duties. I guess I just never realized exactly how busy I would be running an entire kingdom.” She frowned as she picked up the needle with bandaged fingers. “I’m supposed to be here on business, and yet here I am wasting time.”

Camilla did her best to hide a hurt frown. “Sewing is as important a skill as anything else. Not just for little Kamui, but it teaches you patience and steadiness. Let’s continue with where we left off.”

“I—“ Hinoka paused. “I suppose. _Ow!_ Shit!”

Camilla brought a tissue to her fingers—she came prepared, this time—and blotted the small blood specks. She’s kept her concern hidden behind a compassion for strangers, and she’s always brushed off her kindness in a “you’d do the same for me” sense, but Hinoka wondered if she truly, truly _would_.

“Keep it,” Camilla said much later at the door, putting the thread and needle in her hands. “A gift from me, so you can practice.”

 

**_Three._ **

Hinoka wasn’t prepared, to say the least. That much was obvious in how much more disheveled her hair appeared than normal.

As apparent as it could be from behind the small crack between the door and the frame, anyways. Camilla found herself spying like this numerous times throughout Hinoka’s infrequent visits, but she had never seen the queen as she did now.

Curled, sobbing, distressed, comforted by her klutzy retainer as best she could. Over the course of the three years Camilla knew Hinoka, she’d never seen her like _this_.

It made her wonder exactly how much she truly _knew_ the Hoshidan queen—the way she  _wanted_ to know her.

Setsuna’s voice was barely a whisper, but Hinoka’s sobs were practically inaudible. She was too prideful for even that, Camilla thought as she gently pushed the door open ever-so-much, steeling herself by her boots.

With the door opened just an inch further, she could hear.

(“Don’t you see? He’s dead—“

“Lady Hinoka.”

“—and I don’t know what to _do_. They’re _dead_ , and I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“You have us. And the royal advisers…”

“It wasn’t _supposed_ to be me. It was _supposed_ to be Ryoma. I’m not even–”

“Lady Hinoka.”)

Setsuna’s uncharacteristically stern voice stopped whatever Hinoka nearly said.

 

**_Four._ **

She sighed into her hands, leaning over in her lap. “I can’t believe I messed that up.”

“Well, I thought it was cute. The way you flustered when you made a mistake… You really aren’t cut out for semantics, are you?” Camilla chuckled. “That poor ambassador left with a rather bruised ego. I’m sure he’ll look back on this day with _fondness_.”

“No, I meant—“ Hinoka grumbled, digging her forehead into her fists. Camilla found it endearing, despite her apparent attitude issue. “I just practiced a lot, and I thought I had it right this time. Sakura even helped me.”

Camilla’s cheerful smile soured. “Dear, I don’t believe Sakura was the best choice to look for in assistance with public speaking.”

“What _else_ was I supposed to do? I don’t have anyone else I can count on,” Hinoka said, gripping an invisible spear. She unclenched her fist when she realized she was holding onto nothing.

“That’s not true,” Camilla said all a little too quickly. She knew this was coming. She saw the signs, didn’t she?

“What do you know?” she spat, though lacking a certain venom that had been in her voice moments ago. Hinoka, for all her red and fierce glory, appeared defeated. Weakened. What should she do? What _could_ she do? It reminded her of the times where Kamui would rest her head in her lap, crying over the silliest things—only Hinoka was an older, stronger woman, and one who had lost much.

“It’s okay,” Camilla cooed, reaching forward to rub her shoulder blades, “it’s all right.”

Hinoka flinched like her hand was fire. “Don’t. I need to be alone.”

She rose, and Camilla, for the first time, didn’t know what to say.

 

**_Five._ **

Who knew five words could be so cruel?

“Quit it.”

“Hm?” Camilla hummed lightly. The tone only served to aggravate Hinoka more.

“I said, quit mocking me.” Suddenly, Hinoka seemed much older. More hardened. Camilla thought she should’ve liked it, but it was different. She turned towards Hinoka, who glared with a wrinkled forehead. Not from years, but from stress.

“W-whatever do you mean, Hinoka?” Camilla scrunched her brows.

“You know _exactly_ what I mean. Or you _should_.” Hinoka looked away, as though the sight of her burned. “Are you really that confident in yourself? Or do you just take joy in knowing that someone _needs_ you?”

“I don’t understand what you’re implying—“

Hinoka cruelly didn’t answer her—directly, at least—but took out something from a drawer and placed it into Camilla’s hands.

“I’m not weak.”

“I never said you were—“

“But you _thought_ it. You were happy that I came along and took Kamui’s place, weren’t you? You finally had someone else to baby and take care of.”

She turned to leave. “And if it were _me_ by Kamui’s side, Ryoma wouldn’t have died.”

After the door slammed, Camilla tightened her fist. In it, she felt blood trickle from where the needle had pricked her.

 

**_Present._ **

“C-Camilla?”

At the call of her name, Camilla straightened, flicking her hair over her shoulder, tied neatly together to keep obstructions out of her eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Hinoka asked after dismounting from her Pegasus and leaving her escort behind, much to the chagrin of a few astonished bodyguards, who charged after her, calling for her. Hinoka, instead, ignored them, waving her hand back in an informal “I’m fine” fashion.

Camilla’s smile grew. “You sound like you aren’t happy to see me,” she teased.

“T-that wasn’t my intention. You aren’t being fair, here.” Hinoka frowned. “You don’t normally see Nohrians in a Hoshidan village, let alone Nohrian _royals_ —that’s all.”

Camilla hummed in agreement. “That’s exceedingly true, but I suppose times have changed.” At Hinoka’s suspicious glare, she chuckled. “I’m helping these villagers rebuild.”

One of Hinoka’s brows raised. “You are?”

“I am. Surprise?” Camilla spread her arms and laughed, then knelt back down to sawing a plank of wood. Not before making a show of her hair spreading across the back of her tunic, of course. "Why have I been graced with the sight of Hoshido's royal queen?" 

"Um, I'm on rounds, I guess." Hinoka shyly laughed, looking around at some of the village children whispering in hushed awe, pointing at their new queen with idolization. "The officials want me to make appearances, I guess. Give people hope and all that. Connect with the people. It's all I've been really good at so far." She laughed, and Camilla laughed too, and then silence ensued. 

While Camilla enjoyed the silence—aside from the scratching of metal on wood—Hinoka seemed bothered by it. Antsy.

After cutting the plank in half and passing a piece on to a young man, Camilla straightened once more and turned towards Hinoka, resting her weight on one leg. “Listen, Hinoka—I wanted to apologize.”

That caught Hinoka’s attention. “A-apologize? What for?”

“You were right,” she continued, smiling sadly, “it was wrong of me to use you like that. I did truly want to be friends with you, though—someone who is a part of Kamui’s family is a part of mine.” Camilla tilted her head, and Hinoka was hard-pressed to admit it was  _kind of_ cute. “I really, truly thought we were getting along, but you were right—again. It was just my fantasy.”

Hinoka shook her head. “No, no, I—I did enjoy your company. Sometimes.”

“Only _sometimes_?” Camilla pouted, but Hinoka could somehow tell she was teasing. Perhaps a side-effect of exposure to her ways for all these years.

“I’m just teasing you.” Hinoka grinned, and Camilla smiled finally.

“Ah, good. I was worried I would need to subject you to some more quality time with me.” At the call of her name, Camilla took another plank from a young boy who came running up to her. She knelt down, gave the boy a pat and a thank you, and leaned over to continue her work.

“W-who says I wouldn't want to?” Hinoka laughed.

Camilla had barely cut into the plank. “You would truly like to? I’m not overstepping a boundary?”

Hinoka nodded. “I want to apologize too. I was wrong about you. I thought you were selfish, and I admit my hatred of Nohr was clouding my judgment, but…”

She gestured to the remnants of the village. “Seeing you here, helping these people, reminded me that there are still good people in the world. Even though we’ve lost many good people too. You’re a good person, Camilla.”

Camilla flushed. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were flirting with me.”

Hinoka sputtered, and Camilla chuckled. Some things just wouldn’t change.

“Oh.” Camilla stopped suddenly. “That’s right.”

“Huh?”

“I have a present for you. This way.”

Camilla motioned for Hinoka to follow, and took her to where her wyvern sat, sunbathing. She dug into a pouch strapped to the saddle, and told Hinoka to close her eyes. She splayed her hand open, and Hinoka felt Camilla push something into her hands, then closed it.

“What is—“ she began, opening her eyes.

“You still need to practice,” Camilla teased, then winked. “But we can do that together.”

 

* * *

 

_(“Seriously… I just don’t get you. Why did you come without any bodyguards?” Hinoka asked as they walked back._

_“Oh, you mean my lovely retainers? They’re here.”_

_Hinoka looked around, unable to see any trace of them. “But—“_

_“They’re here,” she said. “Trust me.”_

_Hinoka laughed. “I do.”)_


End file.
